OTTAWA COUNTY, Mich. — This year's election will determine who returns to the White House, but that's not the only race to watch.
Ottawa County is seeing an influx of candidates for the first time in two decades. Many are hoping to be the county's next commissioner following a contentious 15 months.
The tensions are on full display among Ottawa County Commissioners and audience members.
"In the past 20 to 25 years in Ottawa County, we've not seen this level of interest in terms of engagement from candidates running for the office of county commissioner," Ottawa County Clerk Justin Roebuck said. "I think I'm a political nerd. I love politics. But I also have really gotten a passion for the administrative side of politics."
Roebuck has overseen elections in Ottawa County for the past decade.
"The turnout that would make any election administrator happy is 100%. Everyone's participating. Everyone feels a part of the process and is able to access the ballot," Roebuck explained.
This August primary has 33 candidates seeking to be Ottawa County's next commissioner. The deadline to file was Tuesday, April 23.
"In your ten years here. Have you ever seen a Democrat on every commissioner seat?" FOX 17 asked.
"No, no, that is something that's new in this cycle that we have not seen here in a very long time," Roebuck added.
A lot of candidates are running for the first time. Many have expressed frustrations with the current board majority, which aligns with the conservative advocacy group Ottawa Impact.
"We've seen Democratic candidates file in every race, and we've seen a number of Republican candidates also filing in every seat. And so that's more significant in terms of what we've seen over the past 25 years here," Roebuck said.
The August primary has a different setup compared to the November general.
"So, you can vote in one partisan column, but not in both. So, essentially, you can pick whichever party you would like. But you have to stay within that party column for the remainder of the ballot," Roebuck added.
A special election for one commissioner seat is in a couple of weeks. Commissioner Lucy Ebel, an Ottawa Impact member, is facing recall.
According to Roebuck, close to 3,300 absentee ballots have been sent out, and more than 1,800 have been cast.
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